Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Magnificent. (It’s like a Rosetta Stone for Middle English. Not really, but it’s great.)

Ich haue devised an excellente planne for a worke of grete literarye merit, and of much sentence and solaas. And school-childer alle across thys grete erth shal reden of thes tales and thanke me for the delite they haue, much more delite than the distiches of catoun shal euere brynge, or even the grapes of wrathe.

Ich shal make a collecioun of tales with a central frame narratif, much lyk the Tenne Dayes of Giovan Boccacce, the whiche ich loue so much that myn copye of yt ys fallynge into fragmentz. But thes tales shalle be tolde nat only by aristocratik sots but by men and womyn of alle estaats (more jokes that waye! whatte ys funnyer than an argument bitwene a sumonour and a friar?).

Honestli, yt ys in sum parte sloth that thus driveth me, for ich haue manye litel wrytynges heere and ther, svch as the tale of the tow yonge knightes and perle harboure, and the vita of Seynte Cecile, that wolde nat selle as independente volumes. But package them wyth severale tales of aventure and slapsticke? Bad-a-bynge, bad-a-boume! A devyce of marketynge moore cunnynge than a foxe that has jvst been made doctour of cunnyng at the universitee of Paris! A devyce of marketynge so clever that yt maketh Bill 3ates look lyk Jessica Simpsoun! Ich am sorrye to be so prideful yn myn herte, but ich am really psychede.

Thogh ich am a man of litel lernynge and thogh ich bere a humble pen that kan nat be compared to the noble style of Cithero or Alanus of Lille or grete Dant who did trauel from helle vp to paradise, nevirtheless ich do beleve myn litel tales shal be a mater of sum discussion and intereste for men and women who shal come aftir me in states vnborne and accentes yet unkennede. And keepyng this in myn consideracioun, ich do thus presente here to yow, gentil rederes, the notes concernynge thes tales that ich made yestermorn at the custoume hous. Myn clerkli mayster in freshman comp did alwey telle me that a wrytyng planne ys always a goode idea, and ich tende to beleve hym since he ys now Archbishop of Canterburie so he must have doon somethynge ryght. So heere is myn wrytng planne. May it plese yow to pardon me the seuerale unrelated nootes ich haue made oute of ire or confusione, or concernynge litel dittees and balades the whiche ich do penne almost constantli. I include al of the mattir, both kernele and chaffe, heere for the sake of Ladye Clio the warde of historyes and bookes, and hopefulli to answere future scholarlyle questiones abovte the ordere and nature of myn tales:

—LIBER RATIONUM CUSTUMARUM REGIS RICARDI II – PAGINA XX

BSL! As yf strucke by lightynge – finalli a waye to get ouer myn writeres blok…

At West Point, Mr. Krakauer signed books for two hours and then took a break, sitting on a stone bench near Trophy Point, a campus landmark. Cadets jogged by; low-altitude helicopters thumped up and down the nearby Hudson River; a man in Buddhist robes examinedsome links of the chain used to blockade British ships in 1778.

“I was surprised so many people showed up for the signing,” Mr. Krakauer said. “But I couldn’t tell what they thought of the book, or even if they’d read it.” He added that he had shown the relevant parts to all the soldiers he interviewed, and that they seemed to approve. “In my mind, and in the book, I’m an advocate for the infantryman,” he said. “They’re the guys who always get exploited.” On the other hand, the officers, he said, were creatures of a culture in which certain commands were not always spelled out but nevertheless everyone knew what was expected.

“There are a lot of officers who will risk their lives for their country, but damn few who will risk their careers,” he explained. “This isn’t little stuff to me. It’s not like you lied about your expense account. This kind of deceit is endemic in the military and goes to the highest levels of government.”